Devastation

Hey,

Today there is something that is heavy on my heart. I won't beat around the bush, it is the issue of homelessness. Why is this on my heart? Well, there are two reasons, one is a recent conversation that I overheard and another is a recent trip to the mountains. I will start with the trip to the mountains.

 My sister and I headed to the mountains to meet with our grandparents. It was a beautiful day and we were riding with the windows down and the music blasting. It was a perfect day to be outside. We enjoyed our visit with our grandparents, as we always do. But...we went through an area that was devastated by the recent tornados that hit our nation. Above is a picture of an area that was spared from destruction.

 This area was not spared. It looked like a waste land. There was nothing good about the images we saw. We saw whole houses in the lake. We saw whole houses that had moved from one place to another. We saw whole mountain sides completely bare of trees that were uprooted. It was and is a very sad picture of reality.

The reality is that there are people who died. There are people who no longer have a home to go to. They are homeless. They are without hope. Hopeless. Bleak. Burdened. Hurting. Grieving. It is a reality that many of us would like to leave in the news headlines and not take to heart.
Enter the conversation that I recently overheard. The conversation started with talk of vacation plans. Then the conversation got interrupted when one person noticed a man standing on the curb with a few grocery bags. One of the people in the group went off on a tirade about homeless people and how they are a drain on society. As I listened to this 45 minute tirade, my heart and spirit were grieving. There is such potential for hope, but we would rather spend our time talking about how our life is impacted by the drain of "these people" on us.
Is this life really about us? Is it really about our comfort? I don't believe it is!
"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." -Mark 12:30-31
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." -John 13:34-35
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.'" -Matthew 25:40
I believe we are here to be God's hands and feet on earth. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that we can earn our salvation. That is a different conversation all together and that is not what I believe.
I cannot and will not accept the thought process, that my life is suppose to be comfortable all the time, while there are millions and billions of people who are hurting all over the place. Hello...they are in our backyard. The homeless and hopeless are right here.
What will I do when my heart quakes inside me for those that are hurting? It is always different...It is always challenging...but it is always worth the sacrifice...because it is a sacrifice of joy for my Lord's glory. Being the hands and feet of Jesus is really easy, because it is not something that I am doing in my own strength. It is actually Jesus in me. I am just humbled that He would use me.
So, here is the challenge: Don't just let the devastation around you become simply a headline. Allow it to penetrate your heart and challenge you. Allow the devasation to call you to action. Action in the Lord's service. Love God and Love People!